Camp Fire
Cathy Tisdale
Cathy Tisdale, president and CEO of the national co-ed and inclusive youth development organization, Camp Fire, has announced her retirement after a distinguished 40-year career.
Tisdale has been at the helm of Camp Fire for eight years, leading the 1912-founded organization through a period of transformation and growth as it restored itself to its former relevance in the youth development sector.
A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s School of Education, she began her career as an educator. Tisdale then went into administrative and leadership roles in the human and youth services sectors.
Ultimately, she would spend 27 years at the American Red Cross serving as a director of community marketing and then as CEO of its Southern Nevada and Grand Canyon chapters. During this time, she was also accepted into Harvard University’s Nonprofit Executive Leadership Program, graduating in 2002.
Tisdale then moved on to join Girl Scouts of the USA in 2007 as a vice president; brought on during a time of upheaval and reformation as the Girl Scouts’ organization consolidated and streamlined its operations. Tisdale led these efforts successfully and ahead of schedule as the organization reduced the number of councils around the nation from 312 to 112.
Her great success during this transition period for the Girl Scouts caught the eye of Camp Fire in 2010, as it was seeking to undergo its own overhaul. In 2011, after a year leading Camp Fire, Tisdale was named “Woman of the Year” by the National Association of Women Professionals.
Cathy Tisdale’s retirement takes effect April 1, 2019, until which she will continue her exemplary work leading Camp Fire. Camp Fire’s board of trustees is set to announce the beginning of the search process for a new CEO with the goal of naming a successor by late March 2019.
